Chianti Classico Collection 2022 Stazione Leopolda, Florence

The Chianti Classico Collection 2022 event was the first for two years, due to Covid 19 restrictions. This made it a much awaited occasion for all the participants.

It was a visit I looked forward to with relish as I had previously tasted and reviewed nearly two hundred Chianti Classico and posted my findings. As a result, I now had the time to chat to the winemakers, meet old friends, hopefully make new ones and taste new wines. Also, I had the opportunity to thank all those wineries, that over the past few years sent wines to my office in Umbria to be reviewed: a trust that I do not take lightly.

Of course, when you have reviewed someone’s wine and imparted words of admiration and good points, the conversation is easy flowing and extremely congenial…The other side of the bottle, so to speak, is when you have received a wine that did not come up to expectation: then you would think conversation with the winemaker is not going to be so free flowing and joyful. On the contrary, these are the best of the conversations, where honesty and transparency are the order of the engagement: "did you agree with my assessment? In part? In total?" The ensuing exchange is always cordial and respectful and usually both parties learn something constructive from the other.